Vehicles are equipped with brakes for slowing or stopping the vehicles. One type of brake is a friction brake. Friction brakes provide stopping power through friction between a component rotating with a wheel and a component stationary relative to the vehicle, e.g., disc brakes, drum brakes, band brakes. Another type of brake is a regenerative brake. Regenerative brakes transform the kinetic energy of the vehicle into energy stored in the batteries. Regenerative brakes are an electric motor that may be the same electric motor as in a hybrid-electric powertrain, or an additional electric motor coupled to the wheels. Regenerative brakes operate as generators, into which the forward rotational motion of the wheels provides an input. By reversing the direction of the torque on, for example, the electric motor to resist the motion of the wheels, the electric motor functions as an electrical generator instead of as a motor, and the electric motor absorbs the kinetic energy of the vehicle through the torque and motion of the wheels.
When the brakes of a vehicle are applied to bring the vehicle from moving to a standstill, an acceleration of the vehicle transitions from negative to zero. The transition of the acceleration from negative to zero can cause a “jerk,” which is defined as the derivative of acceleration, to oscillate with relatively high amplitude. An occupant of the vehicle feels this jerk as a brief thrust forward and back at the moment the vehicle comes to a complete stop. This may be unexpected, unnerving, and/or unpleasant for the occupant. Not only is jerk a problem in autonomous vehicles, for which the occupant does not request the braking, but in nonautonomous vehicles, e.g., where conventionally a human controls braking by activating a brake pedal, it is a problem that brakes cannot be controlled so that torque is applied to prevent or reduce jerk.